The Blue Rose became my give back and my way of healing. The Amazing WoMen Poetry/Artist showcase was birthed from that strength and empowered another woman who suffered from Childhood sexual abuse. As we progressed in this showcase with more artist who are dedicated in their own childhood truths, Artist who believe in their craft and use it to support other. Allowed me to come up with the mission for The Blue Rose “Healing Through Art.” I do not identify this as my fight because it already happened to me, I do this to fight for my kids, and your kids and their kids for generations to come.

As you progress you still travel one of two paths and sometimes you go down that wrong side street. I did, I believed in someone because they were once good, but once broken that try for the wrong reason. I was court ordered, one-year probation and a parenting class. Why, I still don’t know, and I keep meaning to write a thank you letter to the Judge. My DCF worker connected me with a group at the Dorchester Family Resource Center, I was good I was short term, it fulfilled my court obligations. It was a place for me to vent without Judgement. It came to an end, but it was also the beginning. In that group I used my gift of poetry and wrote the ladies in that group a poem for their shared experiences “You Think it’s easy.”

Parents Helping Parents contacted the family resources center to open a community support group there, my facilitator contacted me to sit in on this meeting. She felt it would be a good group for me and I can support other women. This was when I knew my poetry is a healing tool, a story that tells others they are not alone. I hate that we cannot find a place to share and vent without judgement, family the biggest critics after yourself. I hate that to find these places it must be court ordered or mandated by the Department of Children and Families. I have moved up in ranks at this organization, still as a volunteer I am serving as the president of the Board at Parents Helping Parents, I am part of a search committee, I am learning what the different roles are for a board, I am understanding some of the inner workers of running a business.

Healing through Art is our mission. My vision is using all forms of art to speak out against trauma. Having this organization will allow us to take a proposal from an artist, who wants to rally around mental illness, violence, black lives matter, it can also be used to celebrate, finding your voice. This will allow for the funding that artist cannot get. I want to read my poetry and watch a dancer perform to it, have an sculpture depict what they see, view the color on a canvas all interpretations of my words and vice versa.

I am doing this for the families I serve in the mental health field as a family partner. I have a gift to communicate with people and help them understand what they are feeling and sometimes why. Explaining to them what a trigger is, and what a coping skill is and not just any coping skill but taking something they already like and thinking about it a little differently. I have created psychoeducation (as they call it in this field) around processing one’s emotions, parent information and resource, trauma informed – it incorporates pictures, text and poetry. I suggest writing as a way to communicate with parents, or work on one’s self-esteem, identifying what makes them angry. I have done this for three years and was encouraged by co-workers to take the next step and get paid the right money for what I do, therapy. I am going back to school for my master, that I hope to have in the next two years.

I am also hopping that we will be laughing the Blue Rose as a non-profit, with a mission of healing through art, a goal of breaking the silence, Men and Women Empower and found their voice. Everything happens for a reason. Will you stand with me and help network and build for our children and their children, for us SURVIVOR and VICTIMS.

My name is Toni Rose, I am known as Trouble to some, faithful friend to others, mother, daughter, victim, survivor, poet and author.

The Blue Rose is not an individual person, it is a movement. It is healing through art. It is victims and supporters, both men and women using their attention, poetry, music, songs, and dance to speak out against trauma.
When I think about healing through art I'm thinking about a collaboration between the arts.
It's arts interpreting or capturing another person's thoughts, ideas, and feelings within their craft.
It's about taking a poem and creating a dance, a drawing, a painting, a masterpiece.
It's a poet taking a picture, a dance, a musical note and interpreting it into something different, something equally beautiful.
It means reaching all five senses through interpretation of art, poetry, music, songs, and dance to speak out against trauma.
Please help contribute to our success.